Pick-up trucks are employed for light hauling of various construction materials such as sand, dirt, gravel and the like. This granular material has a tendency to become lodged in the gap or track between the end of the truck bed and tailgate, and, unless this track is kept clean, the normal operation of the tailgate will be hampered resulting in permanent damage to the tailgate and its associated hinge.
In order to maintain the cleanliness of a pick-up truck bed, it has been proposed to provide the truck bed with a molded plastic liner of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,768 which includes a tailgate panel portion integrally connected to the bed liner portion by a thin web hinge. This type of liner has not proven entirely satisfactory for its intended purpose since the plastic hinge portion between the bed liner and tailgate panel portion breaks after repeated opening and closing of the tailgate resulting in dirt and gravel once again gravitating into the track.
After considerable research and experimentation, the tailgate track mat of the present invention has been devised which comprises, essentially, a strip of rubber having a reinforcing webbing of high impact Nylon extending over the tailgate track and transversely of the truck bed and tailgate. One edge of the strip is fastened to the inner face of the tailgate near the lower edge portion thereof, and the opposite edge of the strip is provided with a magnetic strip for releasably holding the strip against the bed of the truck. By this construction and arrangement, a hinged sill is provided to prevent dirt and other debris from becoming lodged in the gap or track between the truck bed and tailgate.